Do you know where this is?

Then & Now's first step outside the city could be accompanied by the clopping of horses' hooves, though this road was also used by metal contraptions known then as horseless carriages.

Then & Now's first step outside the city could be accompanied by the clopping of horses' hooves, though this road was also used by metal contraptions known then as horseless carriages.

Horseless carriages would have been few and far between on this road, however, in the 1905-1910 period in which this photograph was taken.

More likely, the road would have served the clip-clopping of horse-drawn wagons, bringing fresh agricultural goods like butter, cheese, eggs, chickens, veal, pork, beef and fruit — mostly apples — from the farming towns around Worcester into the lucrative city market.

Many of those goods originated at the farms that can be seen, scattered far apart, in the photo. Their broad fields are a testament to the agricultural nature of the towns around Worcester, which prospered by feeding city folk. Most of the farmhouses pictured here have been demolished.

Routes into and out of the city became particularly important to the farming communities after an economic depression following the Revolutionary War, when farmers were barely eking out a living. Those challenges brought the establishment of organizations designed to support farmers and disperse information that would help them increase their yields.

The road was also used to transport wood for fuel, until dwindling supplies and efficient transport of wood from farther away, as well as advances in the use of gas and coal, made wood a less-commonly used fuel.

In spite of its humble appearance compared to today's highways, the road pictured here was a major route for stage coach travel as well, and was well-traveled by city dwellers looking for fresh air in milder weather.

Can you guess the location featured in today's photograph?

A hint: The town in which this photo was taken, unlike many towns in the area, was not known for its industry.